The girlfriend of a man who is suspected of murdering three Burnsville first responders and then taking his own life last month was indicted by a federal grand jury on Thursday. Prosecutors claim in the indictment that 35-year-old Ashley Anna Dyrdahl was Shannon Gooden’s straw buyer. Gooden was banned from acquiring weapons due to a prior criminal conviction. Even though Gooden was not allowed to purchase any firearms, the indictment claims that Dyrdahl did as instructed and bought a long gun and a semiautomatic handgun.
The indictment claims Dyrdahl obtained lethal weapons on many occasions and gave them to a felon with a criminal record. The prosecutor said that the MBCA investigation is still underway and that Dyrdahl is anticipated to turn himself in to federal marshals on Thursday just after 3 p.m. In connection with the acquisition of weapons, Dyrdahl is accused of conspiracy, straw purchasing, and making false representations. Luger said that Gooden bought the guns for him after receiving a text warning from Gooden’s fiancée telling him to exercise caution. In a follow-up text message, Luger claimed to have asked Gooden how he felt about a Glock 47 semi-automatic handgun he had just purchased for him. Gooden replied with a “smiling heart” while sending her a video of the gun with an extended magazine.
According to the prosecution, on February 18, 2019, Gooden shot and killed Burnsville police officer Matthew Ruge and injured firefighting paramedic Adam Finiseth. He then spent more than three hours negotiating with authorities before opening fire. At the time of the incident, seven children were inside the house, but all of them were able to escape safely.
Living in the same house as Gooden, Dyrdahl gives birth to two of his children and may be the mother of two more. The mother of Gooden’s three children, Noemi Torres, confirmed to KARE 11 last month that they were within the country when the incident took place. According to the arraignment, Ruge, Elmstrand, and Finseth were killed by Gooden using two semiautomatic rifles in the manner of an AR-15 that Dyrdahl had acquired. Luger told journalists, “Dyrdahl’s illegal buying spree for Gooden illustrates an unpardonable disregard for open security and the law, and the results of this neglect for open security are beyond comprehension.”
A government fantastic jury had been constituted to investigate how Gooden obtained weapons despite his 2008 conviction for a legitimate crime, a source had previously confirmed to MPR News. The Cutting Edge Sportsman’s owner, John McConkey, sent an email to MPR News last month stating that an out-of-state internet reseller had sent an AR-15 lower collector—the government-controlled part of the weapon—to his Burnsville shop to be transferred to a local customer.
Gooden was not the person who picked up the gun on January 15 after passing the FBI foundation check, according to McConkey. According to McConkey, “The Advanced Sportsman had no way of knowing the lower recipient would end up in the possession of an indicted felon / prohibited person.” “Neither was the name of the prohibited individual on any of the enclosed documents nor was he present in the exchange handle.”
Luger informed reporters on Thursday that the gun dealers cooperated with the investigation. Gooden asked a court a long time ago to get his firearms reinstated. Prosecutors said at the time that Gooden had “demonstrated a proceeded ignore to comply the law” as shown by his inconsistent behavior and range of activities. They cited a claim of residential brutality made by Dyrdahl in a 2017 request for an assurance plan and a 2020 request for the same plan made by another accomplice.
About two months after her request for a security arrangement, Dyrdahl sent a letter to a court urging her to restore Gooden’s gun rights. Dakota District Judge Dannia Edwards rejected Gooden’s request in the end, siding instead with the prosecution.
